God Has Always, And Still Uses Today Imperfect Men - 100 Dod - Day 87 by Apostle Emmanuel Iren: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

The Riddle of the Lion and the Honey

In Judges 14:5-9, Samson was travelling on the road when a young lion came roaring at him. The Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him and he tore the lion apart with his bare hands. He left the carcass on the road, continued on his journey, and when he passed through that same way sometime later, he found the lion still dead — but now with a swarm of bees inside it that had made honey. He drew the honey out of the carcass and ate it.

That moment became a powerful spiritual riddle:

"Out of the eater came something to eat, and out of the strong came something sweet."

The spiritual metaphor is this: out of something dead — something that by Levitical standards would have been considered unclean to touch — something sweet can still come.

God Draws Greatness Out of Dysfunction

There is a consistent pattern in history: out of spiritual dysfunction and trauma, out of foundations of Christianity that would be considered imperfect and shaky, God has a way of drawing out someone very powerful.

Many men of God who appear solid, strong, and theologically sound — when examined closely, seem as though they must have been raised by the most impeccable spiritual parents. When the actual background comes to light, the shock is real.

This is no endorsement for growing up in dysfunctional churches. But it speaks to the power of the Holy Spirit — the same power that raised Moses right under Pharaoh's roof.

The same house committed to the slavery of God's people became the house that raised Israel's deliverer.

Pharaoh nurtured, nursed, and trained the saviour of Israel from his own purse. That is the power of the Holy Spirit. Learn to trust His providence.

When studying some of the most notable figures in Christian history — men who did great things for the kingdom of God — there is a pattern: God filtered out the best of their contribution and ensured that was what endured. Some of the details of their lives, if known, would genuinely surprise even the most seasoned believers.

The Flaws of the Fathers of the Faith

These names were chosen deliberately — they cut across every major Christian tradition. Whether Reformed, Lutheran, or Catholic, these figures are foundational to those movements.

• John Calvin — He ran a theocratic regime in Geneva and was criticized for being overly authoritarian. He preached a sermon titled The Execution of Rebellious Children, in which he said: "Rebellious and incorrigible children should be put to death." He stretched certain Levitical principles and interpreted them in an extreme practical way. And this was not merely a sermon — it was practiced:

  • In 1563, a young girl was confined, fed bread and water, and publicly compelled to repent — her crime was insulting her mother.
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  Apostle Emmanuel Iren
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  • In 1568, a child was beheaded for striking his parents.
  • Another child was condemned to death; his sentence was reduced, but only to public whipping and banishment with a halter around his neck.

  In 1552, the Geneva Council declared Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion a holy doctrine which no man could speak against — and to do so was punishable by death. A theologian with differing views placed a letter in Calvin's pulpit calling him a hypocrite. He was arrested, tortured for a month, and beheaded on July 26th, 1547. His theological book was burned along with his house, and his wife was thrown into the street to watch.

• Martin Luther — He was notable for harsh and intolerant language, particularly in writings against Jews, Muslims, and even fellow Protestants and Anabaptists. In works such as Against the Roman Papacy, an Institution of the Devil, he showed a pattern of resorting to extreme language that alienated many and contributed to religious division. He wrote: "The pope is the head of the accursed church, the very worst knave on earth. The pope is a liar and the father of lies." Are there errors in the Catholic Church? Yes. Should it have been presented this way? No. In his later years — particularly in his sermon On the Jews and Their Lives — he referred to Jewish people as a brood of vipers, blind and senseless, and called for their synagogues to be burned and their properties confiscated. It is believed that his anti-Jewish rhetoric influenced antisemitic movements, including those in Nazi Germany. He was also attributed with misogynistic views, with statements such as "let them bear children to death — that is what they are there for," reflecting a deeply limited view of women.
• Jonathan Edwards — He was pro-slavery. He owned slaves and defended the practice.
• John Wesley — He struggled deeply in his personal relationships. His marriage was marked by long separations and bitter conflicts that affected both his personal life and ministry.
• George Whitefield — When Georgia trustees banned slavery from the colony, he considered the ban silly and destined to be overturned. He became arguably the colony's leading proponent of pro-slavery legislation.
• Tertullian — Tertullian was a great early church theologian, but in the later part of his life he aligned himself with Montanism — a movement considered by Orthodox theology to be a false Christian movement and a theological heresy. One of the key early church fathers ended his days subscribed to what the church would call heresy.

What This Pattern Reveals

Many times, the reason there is paranoia about genuine ministers making doctrinal errors — to the point where it feels as though people want them silenced or destroyed to preserve the fidelity of truth — is a failure to reckon with history.

Based on proper historical accounts, the Holy Spirit has a way of bringing the honey out of the carcass. Many of the excesses will not stand the test of time.

With that in mind:

• Keep praying for men of God — and do not regard them as infallible. They are not.
• When they are honest enough to correct themselves, forgive them.
• Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones — and it is often the camps with the most egregious doctrines that prove most unforgiving.
• We are all learning — this does not mean there should be no standard for ministers, but allowance must be given for growth.
• Many are more traditional than theological — which is why varying beliefs on key doctrines can come as a shock. Study the historical positions and the range of views across church history. The breadth is staggering.

The One Line Worth Drawing

Only matters that directly affect the integrity and fidelity of the finished work of Christ are worth splitting over. If a disagreement does not touch that — move on from it.

Consider Paul: he preached forcefully against circumcision, insisting nothing should be added to faith in Christ. Yet when he wanted Timothy to travel with him, he had Timothy circumcised — simply to avoid unnecessary controversy. That is not compromise on essentials. That is wisdom in context.

Walking So Others Can Fly

Something is happening in this generation: more young people are becoming interested in theology, in the deep things of the faith. The fathers prayed for exactly this.

But there is a critical attitude that can accompany that awakening. If a farmer works his entire life to send his son to school — and that son comes home with polished education and uses it to criticise everything the father did wrong — he has completely missed the point.

He walked so that you can fly.

Recognise what the fathers have done. Their limitations notwithstanding, if God has opened your eyes to those limitations, it is so that you can be an improvement in your generation — not a judge of theirs. At the end of the day, Jesus gets all the glory.

If God has revealed the flaws of those who came before, the correct response is to do better — to move the needle forward — and to make sure the banner of Christ is carried into every corner of the world. That is the call. Not to condemn, but to build further, higher, and more faithfully than the generation before.